Banning Christmas

Where did Christians get this sense that they're being discriminated against if they aren't solely being catered to?

So department stores aren't putting "Merry Christmas" up in their stores anymore, opting for the more inclusive and pluralistic "Happy Holidays," and Donald Wildmon over at the American Family Association is offended because his faith lost its monopoly on holidays in December. He's started sending a petition around to get retailers to, once again, make Christmas the only holiday of the season. He says it offends him that Christmas isn't the only holiday recognized anymore.

This type of thing is honestly making Christians look just ridiculous. Where are the Jewish people screaming that they only want "Happy Hanukkah" signs up? Or the Afrocentrists claiming that they're offended by the fact that these retail stores recognize that customers who don't celebrate Kwanza also happen to want to spend their money?

Tradition is a mighty thing. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have dawned on these conservative fundies that the product of all their hard labor, a pluralistic, democratic society, has some unintended consequences. Yes, we empowered the individual by acknowledging the existence of natural rights, and now they want to spread their wings, and all we want is for them to remain on the perch.

Maybe they'd be happy if all of these stores acknowledged ALL the holidays expressly. Make different signs for every holiday celebrated. Then again, maybe these "Conservative Christians" have also forgotten that making a lot of different signs costs a lot more than making a lot of copies of one sign. Maybe they've forgotten the purpose of business... minimize cost and maximize income?

Oh, wait... I almost forgot who I was talking about.
posted by Stephen at 5:45 PM | |

 
No Meeting Tonight

The Doyles are preparing to go out of town and the Zedlers need a vacation from their vacation. We're pooped.

Let's meet next week.
posted by Stephen at 11:13 AM | |

 

A Most Disturbing Sight
but highly symbolic... don't you think?

I am the sponsor for the debate team at our school. I get to see all kinds of interesting things inside the classrooms at the schools that host these things. But nothing has yet struck me as as being quite as disturbing, and yet unintentionally profound, as a single pinata hanging in a Spanish classroom.

It's Jesus' head.
Do you think the person who made it was thinking about what you do with pinatas when they made it?
This one is too easy, so get creative, folks... comment away.
posted by Stephen at 8:48 PM | |

 
No Monday Night Meeting Tonight
Hey gang...we won't be meeting tonight. However, if you'd like to hang out or something, give the Doyle's a call...we might be available.
posted by Jimmy at 1:22 PM | |

 
Strangers and Residents
This week's Torah reading is "The Life of Sarah" (Genesis 23:1-25:18)...which paradoxically deals entirely with events after her death. As part of the reading, Abraham says that he is a "stranger and resident" among the Canaanites (Gen. 23:4). According to some rabbinic thought, the Jew is a "resident" in the world because "the Torah instructs him not escape the physical reality but to inhabit it and elevate it. Virtually all the mitzvot (divine commandments) of the Torah are physical actions involving physical objects, in keeping with the Jew's mission to make a 'dwelling for G-d in the material realm' by sanctifying the everyday materials of everyday life.

At the same time, the Jew feels himself a 'stranger' in the material world. His true home is a higher, loftier placethe world of spirit, the world of holiness and G-dliness from which his soul has been exiled and to which it yearns to return. Indeed, it is only because the Jew feels himself a stranger in the world that he can avoid being wholly consumed and overwhelmed by it, and maintain the spiritual vision and integrity required to elevate it and sanctify it as an abode for the divine presence." (The Lubavitcher Rebbe)

Here's a great parable concerning this for you to reflect upon:

The story is told of the visitor who, stopping by the home of the great Chassidic master Rabbi DovBer of Mezheritch, was outraged by the poverty he encountered there. Rabbi DovBer's home was bare of all furnishing, save for an assortment of rough wooden planks and blocks that served as benches for his students during the day and as beds for his family at night. "How can you live
like this?" demanded the visitor. "I myself am far from wealthy, but at least in my home you will find, thank G-d, the basic necessities: some chairs, a table, beds..."

"Indeed?" said Rabbi DovBer. "But I don't see any of your furnishings. How do you manage without them?"

"What do you mean? Do you think that I schlep all my possessions along with me wherever I go? When I travel, I make do with what's available. But at home--a person's home is a different
matter altogether!"

"Ah, yes," said Rabbi DovBer. "At home, it is a different matter altogether..." (Likkutei Dibburim)

posted by Jimmy at 10:45 AM | |

 
Good Blogging
Here are some great posts out there:

• Rudy Carrasco on what’s missing from justice ministry
• John Frye on Jesus...several good posts: Intro, 1 Worldview, 2. God, 3. Jesus Bible, 4. New Ways of Seeing People, 5. Redeeming People, 6. This Particular Jew (Please don't get hung up on the "Emergent pastor" theme)
• There have been a lot of good posts in the last month over at Dying Church. It would be good to look over their stuff from the past month.

posted by Jimmy at 7:14 AM | |

 

Florida Bound
Looks like Amy, Jacob, and I are going to enjoy some time in Florida in a couple of weeks. My friend Jonathan Reitz invited me to be part of a speaking panel for the Ecumenical Stewardship Center's 2005 Leadership Seminar. I'm not sure what I can offer to such a group, but it sounds like it will be interesting and it will be good to see Jonathan again.

The Seminar will be at the Shores Resort and Spa in Daytona Beach. Our room will be there and it's beachside...needless to say, I'm looking forward to the trip.
posted by Jimmy at 6:17 PM | |

 
Believer's Church Talk
Last night I spoke at believer's church. It was the second of two talks (I spoke there last week). Quite honestly, I felt like last week's talk went much better. Last night I spoke too long and rambled quite a bit. My excuse is that I pulled an all-nighter the night before working on a web site concept. The topic was the Kingdom of God. I told the group that I would make my notes available online. Here's part of my talk. Please be aware it isn't spell checked and is used mostly as a guide for my talk. This is actually the outline that I used at Caleb's DNow a few weeks back, so if you were at that here are my notes for that as well.

http://www.liquidthinking.org/blog/the%20Kingdom%20of%20God.pdf
posted by Jimmy at 4:15 PM | |

 

Monday Night
Gather around 6:30. Discussion will start around 7:00 pm. We're still studying Amos. It might be helpful to check out the Message version of Amos before the study. Also, for a more in-depth look, here's the NetBible version in pdf. The pdf file has a lot of really good endnotes for translation and contextual insights.

Anyone who wants to attend is welcome. Tonight we'll be at Doyle's House O' Prayer. Call 258-6925 for directions or info.
posted by Jimmy at 1:21 PM | |

 
Please say a prayer for my newborn nephew, Finn Elliot. He was born yesterday, and is now in the ICU with an infection. We know very little at this point, but they're saying that he'll probably be there until this Sunday.

Finn's parents are Jennifer and Jeremy, Joy's sister and brother-in-law.
posted by Stephen at 3:21 PM | |

 
If It Be Your Will
Leonard Cohen has never gotten enough respect. You really should go to iTunes right now and download this song (and others) if you don't have it. Why is it that this feels more like praise than most praise music I hear?

If it be your will
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will
If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing

From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
If it be your will
If there is a choice
Let the rivers fill
Let the hills rejoice
Let your mercy spill
On all these burning hearts in hell
If it be your will
To make us well

And draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
In our rags of light
All dressed to kill
And end this night
If it be your will

If it be your will.
posted by Jimmy at 7:10 AM | |

 

Someone tell Pat Robertson to SHUT UP!!!
posted by Stephen at 6:50 PM | |

 
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God is the Only Gospel, Part II

Matthew 7:21-23
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

These people are able to do all these things... they perform miracles, they cast out demons... but they have no part in Christ? What sense does that make?

A while back ago, I wrote about the bronze snake that Moses lifted up in the desert to heal the people of Israel, and how later, Hezekiah had to end up smashing it, because people were worshipping the gift rather than one who gave it to them.

My guess is that, many of those people who cry "Lord, Lord" do the same. Misuse of the gift doesn't mean God takes the gift away. We can use the gifts without the blessing of God, and they will bear fruit. But in putting the emphasis on the gift, rather than God, we create a whole new law. We box God into it. It becomes an equation. "IF I do this, THEN God will do this." Or it becomes a contract. "Okay, God, I held up my end of the bargain. Now it's YOUR turn to perform." Or it becomes a law. Either way, it is not a relationship. So Christ doesn't know us.

"The names of God lead to Nehushtan. The God of names leads to calvary."

In focusing on the acts of God, the roles of God... God as healer, God as provider, God as savior, we have unknowingly bottled God into our mold. We've sought to control him with our knowledge of him.

Isaiah 29:13
13 The Lord says:
"These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is made up only of rules taught by men.

This is the result of our dogmas. Those who believe they have God and salvation figured out... they know the secret, they know the formula, and their only job now is to make sure that the recipe is passed to as many souls as possible... those people have exalted something other than God. They have tried to trap God. All they have left is a bronze snake. Worship is to enthrone and exalt God, not attempt to manipulate him into performing for me or making me comfortable. It is entirely possible to make my knowledge of God an idol. Unless God himself is king, and my knowledge of him is laid down at his throne, I have not submitted to his kingdom.

This is especially hard for me, because I want to know I'm doing it right. I want to see the roadsigns. "1/4 mile to the exit, then turn right." But that's not trust. It's a formula. I've taken a gift and made it a rule. We do it with worship. We do it with discipleship. We do it with healing. We do it with tongues. We do it with teaching. We do it with prosperity. We do it with being "post-modern" or "emergent". But those aren't the gospel. God on the throne is gospel. Getting caught up in these lesser gospels only leads to disillusionment and division.

More later... (yeah, what if it DOES take me a couple of weeks?)
posted by Stephen at 8:33 PM | |

 
Monday Night
Gather around 6:30 for the Book of Common Prayer service. Discussion will start around 7:00 pm. We're still studying Amos. It might be helpful to check out the Message version of Amos before the study. Also, for a more in-depth look, here's the NetBible version in pdf. The pdf file has a lot of really good endnotes for translation and contextual insights.

We will be meeting at St. Patrick's tonight.
posted by Jimmy at 10:17 AM | |

 

posted by Jimmy at 4:08 AM | |

 

The Old Cross and the New

"All unannounced, and mostly undetected, there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique - a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching.

The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. The new cross, if understood aright, is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure.

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. The old cross is a symbol of death. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again into newness of life. God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life he offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross.

Among the plastic saints of our times Jesus has to do all the dying and all we want is to hear another sermon about his dying. So subtle is self that scarcely anyone is conscious of its presence. Because man is born a rebel, he is unaware that he is one. Our uncrucified flesh will rob us of purity of heart, Christ-likeness of character, spiritual insight, fruitfulness; and more than all, it will hide from us the vision of God's face, that vision which has been the light of earth and will be the completeness of heaven."

Excerpt from Gems of Tozer: Selections from the Writings of A.W. Tozer
posted by Stephen at 7:47 PM | |

 

Housewares for the Houseless:
My friend Chap Ambrose is working on this project at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Here's his blog page with more information and updates on the project. He's looking for some good ideas and input. If anyone is interested or experienced in this area, you might drop him some thoughts.

Chap writes:

For this project I feel particularly drawn to people struggling with substance abuse. This stems from my direct and personal relationship with B [who's bed is pictured above], a man literally dying because of his habits. This specific situation requires compassion and honesty. I can immediately throw out the "jacket that converts into a sleeping cot idea" not only because it's trite and demeaning, but also because I fear giving something of value to a person who's life is controlled by chemicals and whose focus is on the acquisition of those chemicals.

posted by Jimmy at 4:40 PM | |

 
Israeli Archaeologists Discover Ancient Church JERUSALEM — Israeli archaeologists said Saturday they have discovered what may be the oldest Christian church in the Holy Land on the grounds of a prison near the biblical site of Armageddon. more

posted by Jimmy at 7:58 AM | |

 
What a Pain in the...

DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- Home Depot is defending a lawsuit filed by a man
who claims one of the chain's stores ignored his cries for help after he fell
victim to a prank and was glued to a toilet seat. <more>

posted by Jimmy at 8:45 AM | |

 
Which Definition Fits What You Do?

Main Entry: vo·ca·tion Pronunciation: vO-'kA-sh&n
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English vocacioun, from Latin vocation-, vocatio summons, from vocare to call, from vox voice -- more at VOICE

1 a : a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action; especially : a divine call to the religious life b : an entry into the priesthood or a religious order

2 a : the work in which a person is regularly employed : OCCUPATION b : the persons engaged in a particular occupation

3 : the special function of an individual or group
posted by Jimmy at 7:44 AM | |

 
For Those Who Have Ears To Hear...
If you find that you have been climbing the ladder of success simply to find that it has been leaning against the wrong house, take down the ladder, turn it upside down, paint it a different color, call it by a different name, put it back against the same house and start climbing again. That should satisfy you for a while.
posted by Jimmy at 4:42 PM | |

 




Mark's Break from the Liquidthinking Site:

I'm taking a break from posting on the Liquidthinking site. I'm trying to spend more time on my other blogs. www.theriddlegroup.com/blog and emergenttulsa.blogspot.com for the next few months. I enjoy being on this blog and am friends with the folks here, but I'm wanting to work on a couple of things on those blogs that will take more of my attention. I love this blog and when I started it several years ago it took on a life of it's own. Jimmy and Stephen have more interesting things to say than I do anyway.

the www.theriddlegroup.com/blog will be a place for me to dream about the church and build up new practical ways of being the church personally. I will still be asking questions and often providing very few answers. But it will be my personal blog.

The emergenttulsa.blogspot.com blog will take the place of my communal blog for a while. There will be several voices of area pastors and church leaders dream of new theology for a new world, as we purse what the kingdom of God looks like here locally.

See you in a few months.

Mark
posted by riddle at 9:12 AM | |